Nothing captures the spirit of the holidays quite like the glow of bright, colorful lights. Few things, however, can put a damper on holiday decorating quite like seeing a section of those freshly hung lights go dark.

“It’s a shame when you go through the hassle to get your light sets and pre-lit decor, such as your pre-lit tree, wreath or lawn ornaments, out of storage only to find some sets only partially work or don’t work at all,” said John DeCosmo, CEO of Ulta-Lit Tree Company, the maker of the LightKeeper Pro, a tool that fixes light sets by illuminating working bulbs so the user can see the bad ones. “When light sets go out, it’s as if a bit of your Christmas spirit did, too.

“We understand the frustration of light set repair, and hope our customer service and light set repair tools make the holidays a bit brighter for all each year.”

With these pro tips, you can keep your holiday lights bright and spirits merry:

• Measure: When planning the number of lights you will need for your tree, estimate using at least 100 lights for every foot of tree height.

• Decide Between LED vs. Incandescent: LEDs are more expensive than incandescent lights, but typically last longer. When it comes to energy usage, a tree with 1,000 incandescent lights can cost $10 over an average holiday season while the same tree using LEDs costs around $1.50.

• Consider Indoor vs. Outdoor: Commercial-grade light sets are more reliable for outdoor use because of their durability and thicker insulation.

• Inspect: Before stringing lights, check for broken bulbs and sockets, frayed cords, burned out lights and loose connections. For sets with bulb outages, use a tool such as the LightKeeper Pro for incandescent lights. Plug the empty bulb socket into the Socket Connector then squeeze the trigger a few times and most light sets will illuminate within seconds.  For LED lights, the LED Keeper can help find and fix the problem.

• Connect: For best results when using incandescent lights, connect no more than three strands of mini-string sets together. LED light sets can handle connecting more than 30 strands together.

• String: When stringing lights on a tree, begin at the top of the tree with the light set plugged in. If a light set blinks during stringing the tree, you may have a loose bulb.

• Replace and repair: Occasionally check for any bulbs that aren’t working and replace them as soon as possible to get the most of your light sets. Two burned out bulbs can decrease the lifespan of the light set by 39 percent; four burned out bulbs by 67 percent.

Should your lights go dark this holiday season, the pros at Ulta-Lit are available to answer questions seven days a week between Thanksgiving and Christmas, and year-round, at 888-858-2548 or UltaLit.com.

Sponsored by LightKeeper Pro